Actuator, light scanning apparatus and object detecting apparatus

ABSTRACT

An actuator includes a column shaped magnet having an S-pole and an N-pole thereof positioned opposite to each other across a central axis of the magnet. A driving coil is disposed near the magnet, the driving coil comprising a first portion and a second portion positioned opposite to each other across the magnet, the first portion and the second portion are generally parallel to the central axis, current flowing in opposite directions in the first portion and the second potion when powered on. A ferromagnetic material is disposed outside the driving coil along the central axis, distance from the central axis to the ferromagnetic material varying with the direction from the central axis. A driving circuitry is configured to apply a drive signal, the drive signal having a periodically varying voltage or current. The magnet performs reciprocating rotation in accordance with the drive signal applied by the driving circuitry.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an actuator for reciprocating a targetobject, a light scanning apparatus adopting the actuator, and an objectdetecting apparatus for detecting an object along an optical path of alaser beam by adopting the actuator and the laser beam.

Background

Object detecting apparatus has been conventionally used to detect laserbeam reflected by an object by irradiating laser pulse outward, therebydetecting the distance to the object along the optical path of the laserbeam and the object itself. Such an object detecting apparatus is calledLiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging).

In recent years, LiDAR has come to be applied in the field of autonomousdriving of vehicles. In order to compensate for the shortcomings of acamera sensor which is susceptible to an external lighting environmentand a milliwave radar which is of low resolution, and further to realizehigh-precision detection of a small obstacle in a driving environment,LiDAR is used in association with, for example, the camera sensor or themilliwave radar.

For example, the patent literature 1 (PTL1) discloses an example of aLiDAR that can be used in the field of autonomous driving. In the LiDARrecited in PTL1, a near-infrared laser as a light source and a lightdetecting element as a receiver are configured on a substrate as a pair,where 32 or 64 pairs of light sources and receivers are setup based onthe elevation measurement angle in order to acquire high-resolutiondistance information within the overall field of view. Therefore, theapparatus is large and expensive.

In addition, another example of LiDAR is recited in non-patentliterature 1 (NPL1). In the LiDAR recited in NPL1, a polygon mirrorhaving three faces with different inclination angles is rotated todeflect a laser beam, thereby the laser beam is projected within a fieldof view of 4.5° in a vertical direction, and the reflected light fromthe object is reflected on the surface same as the projection surface ofthe polygon mirror and guided to a light detecting element fordetection.

In the LiDAR recited in NPL1, the reflected light from a plurality ofvertical positions can be detected by a light-receiving element.However, in the LiDAR recited in NPL1, since the polygon mirror havingreflecting surfaces with different inclination angles is used, it isdifficult to design the centroid of mass of the polygon mirror, andresults in high manufacturing cost.

A LiDAR using a rotating mirror is also recited in NPL2, but thestructure of the LiDAR is not described in detail in NPL2.

CITATION LIST {Patent Literature}

-   {PTL1} U.S. Pat. No. 8,767,190.

{Non Patent Literature}

-   {NPL1} Cristiano Niclass, et al., “A 100-m Range 10-Frame/s    340×96-Pixel Time-of-Flight Depth Sensor in 0.18-μm CMOS”, IEEE    JOURNAL OF SOLID-STATE CIRCUITS, Institute of Electrical and    Electronics Engineers, FEBRUARY 2013, VOL. 48, NO. 2, p. 559-572-   {NPL2} Shimizu, Naoshige “Redundant system and LiDAR to realize    level 3, Audi becomes pioneer of autonomous driving” Nikkei    Automotive, Nikkei Business Publications, September, 2017, pp. 22-23

SUMMARY

In order to improve the detection accuracy and detection sensitivity ofan object by the LiDAR, it is desirable to scan within the predeterminedfield of view with a laser beam at a high speed and with a high density.On the other hand, in case of general universal-purpose LiDAR, it isimportant to reduce the power consumption. Particularly, the restrictionto power consumption is strict in cases where large capacity batteriescannot be used, especially in such cases that the LiDAR would be mountedon a compact mobility object or on a wearable apparatus such as a glassor a helmet. Further, in either case, high durability is of coursepreferable.

The technologies recited in PTL1, NPL1 and NPL2 cannot sufficiently meetsuch requirements for the scanning.

With consideration of the circumstances above, the purpose of thepresent invention is to enable a structure to implement a scanning, inwhich the projection direction of a light beam periodically changes,with low power consumption and high durability. In addition, the presentinvention is preferably applied to an object detecting apparatus like aLiDAR, but is not limited to object detection. The present invention isalso applicable to light scanning of other purposes, and does not limitthe use of the actuator according to the present invention for otherpurposes besides light scanning.

For the above purposes, an actuator according to the present inventionincludes: a torsion spring fixed to a support member; a permanent magnetcoupled to the torsion spring where the permanent magnet is placed withan N-pole and an S-pole thereof across a rotational axis of the torsionspring; a driving coil faced to the permanent magnet and located on aside of the permanent magnet opposite to the torsion spring; a drivecircuitry configured to apply a drive signal with periodically varyingvoltage or current; and a mirror unit fixed to the torsion spring andlocated on an opposite side of the permanent magnet, the mirror unitcomprising a first reflecting surface near a center of the torsionspring and a second reflecting surface around the first reflectingsurface and parallel to the first reflecting surface, a second planeincluding the second reflecting surface being closer to the rotationaxis of the torsion spring than a first plane including the firstreflecting surface, and the mirror unit reciprocating in accordance withapplication of the drive signal.

In such an actuator, a centroid of mass of the mirror unit issubstantially on the rotation axis of the torsion spring.

Preferably, the mirror unit includes: a first mirror having the firstreflecting surface; and a second mirror having the second reflectingsurface.

Preferably, a centroid of mass of the second mirror is closer to therotation axis of the torsion spring than a centroid of mass of the firstmirror.

Preferably, the centroid of mass of a movable member including thetorsion spring, the mirror unit and the permanent magnet issubstantially on the rotation axis of the torsion spring.

Further, a light scanning apparatus according to the present inventionincludes any of the above actuators, where a beam is projected afterbeing reflected by the first reflecting surface of the mirror unit.

In addition, an object detecting apparatus according to the presentinvention includes: any of the above actuators; a laser light sourceconfigured to output a laser beam; a light-receiving element; an opticalassembly configured to reflect the laser beam at the first reflectingsurface of the mirror unit and project the reflected laser beam tooutside, guide incident light incident from the outside on an opticalaxis same as an optical axis of the projected laser beam, and guide theincident light to the light-receiving element; and an object detectingassembly configured to detect a distance to an object located along anoptical path of the projected laser beam and a direction in which theobject is located, based on a projection timing and a projectiondirection of the laser beam and a timing of a light detection signaloutput by the light-receiving element.

Preferably, the object detecting apparatus includes: a speed detectingcircuitry configured to detect a rotation speed of the mirror unit; anda pulse controller configured to control the pulse interval of the lasersource based on the rotation speed detected by the speed detectingcircuitry.

Moreover, another actuator according to the present invention includes:a column shaped movable magnet having an S-pole and an N-pole thereofpositioned opposite to each other across a central axis of the movablemagnet; a support member configured to support the movable magnet, sothat the movable magnet is rotatable around the central axis; a drivingcoil disposed in vicinity of the movable magnet, the driving coilcomprising a first portion and a second portion positioned opposite toeach other across the movable magnet, the first portion including afirst wire bundle generally parallel to the central axis, the secondportion including a second wire bundle generally parallel to the centralaxis, current flowing in opposite directions in the first portion andthe second potion when powered on; a ferromagnetic material fixedoutside the driving coil along the central axis, distance from thecentral axis to the ferromagnetic material on a plane perpendicular tothe central axis varying with direction from the central axis; and adrive circuitry configured to apply a drive signal, the drive signalhaving a periodically varying voltage or current.

In such an actuator, the movable magnet preferably performsreciprocating rotation in accordance with the drive signal applied bythe drive circuitry.

Preferably, the ferromagnetic material is a soft magnetic material as ayoke.

Alternatively, the ferromagnetic material is preferably one piece ofmagnet, where an N-pole and an S-pole of the magnet face each otheracross the central axis of the movable magnet.

Alternatively, the ferromagnetic material preferably comprises a firstmagnet and a second magnet, where an N-pole of the first magnet and anS-pole of the second magnet face each other across the central axis ofthe movable magnet.

Preferably, the movable magnet is prismatic or cylindrical.

Preferably, the movable magnet moves toward a neutral position as aspecific orientation when no voltage is applied to the driving coil, andthe first portion and the second portion of the driving coil arerespectively located opposite to the poles of the movable magnet at theneutral position.

Preferably, the distances from the central axis to the soft magneticmaterial are equal on both sides of the N-pole and the S-pole of themovable magnet at the neutral position, and the N-pole and the S-pole ofthe movable magnet at the neutral position face a direction withshortest distance from the central axis to the soft magnetic material.

Preferably, the driving coil is formed such that wire of the drivingcoil is connected to a first end of the second portion by winding fromfirst end of the first portion around the central axis of the movablemagnet along surface of the movable magnet, and connected to a secondend of the first portion by winding from a second end of the secondportion around the central axis of the movable magnet along the surfaceof the movable magnet.

Preferably, the movable magnet performs reciprocating rotation inaccordance with the drive signal applied by the drive circuitry, withina range centered on a position of the movable magnet in a state wherethe drive signal is not applied.

Preferably, the actuator includes: a mirror fixed to an end portion ofthe movable magnet in its longitudinal direction, the mirror performingreciprocating rotation in accordance with the drive signal applied bythe drive circuitry. The reciprocating rotation is preferably within arange centered on a position of the mirror in a state where the drivesignal is not applied.

Preferably, a third magnet is disposed at an end of the mirror on anopposite side to the movable magnet side.

In addition, another light scanning apparatus according to the presentinvention includes any of the above described actuators and the lightscanning apparatus reflecting a beam at the mirror and projecting thereflected beam.

Another object detecting apparatus according to the present inventionincludes: any of the above described actuators; a laser light sourceconfigured to output a laser beam; a light-receiving element; an opticalassembly configured to reflect the laser beam at the mirror and projectthe reflected laser beam to the outside, guide incident light incidentfrom the outside, to the light-receiving element; and an objectdetecting assembly configured to detect a distance to an object locatedalong an optical path of the projected laser beam and a direction inwhich the object is located, based on a projection timing and aprojection direction of the laser beam and a timing of a light detectionsignal output by the light-receiving element.

The object detecting apparatus preferably includes: a speed detectingcircuitry configured to detect a rotation speed of the mirror; and apulse controller configured to control a pulse interval of the laserlight source based on the rotation speed detected by the speed detectingcircuitry.

Preferably, a third magnet is disposed at an end of the mirror of theactuator on an opposite side to the movable magnet side, and the speeddetecting circuitry comprises a magnetic sensor facing the third magnet,and configured to detect the rotation speed of the mirror based onchange in magnetism detected by the magnetic sensor.

Preferably, the magnetic sensor is a magnetoresistive sensor thatdetects direction of a magnetic field with a magnetoresistive element.

The present invention can be embodied not only by the above describedembodiments, but also by any other aspect such as an apparatus, asystem, a method, a program, or a storage medium on which a computerprogram is stored.

According to the present invention as described above, it is possible toenable a structure to implement a scanning, in which the projectiondirection of a light beam periodically changes, with low powerconsumption and high durability.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating principal configuration relatedwith an embodiment of an object detecting apparatus 10 according to thepresent invention with focus on the functions thereof.

FIG. 2 is an illustration to explain the principle of object detectionin the object detecting apparatus 10.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating configurations ofmain constituent elements of the object detecting apparatus 10.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating an external appearance of theobject detecting apparatus 10.

FIG. 5 is a view showing schematic appearance and arrangement ofactuators 300, 380.

FIG. 6A to FIG. 6D are exploded perspective views showing componentsconstituting the actuator 300 and an outline of assembly processthereof.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view illustrating componentsconstituting a movable member 320 of the actuator 300.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an overall structure of the movablemember 320 for illustrating the function of the mirror unit 301.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a cross section of the actuator300 shown in FIG. 6D by a chain line as seen from an arrow M.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view of the centroid of mass of the entiremovable member 320.

FIG. 11 is a view showing a comparative example of the movable member.

FIG. 12 is a view showing a structure of a structural diagram of amodified example of a mirror unit.

FIG. 13 is a view showing schematic appearance and arrangement ofactuators 300, 380.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing structure of an actuator 400.

FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view of the actuator 400.

FIG. 16 is an exploded perspective view of the actuator 400 in moredetail than FIG. 15.

FIG. 17A to FIG. 17C are views for illustrating the principle ofreciprocating rotation of the actuator 400.

FIG. 18A to FIG. 18C are other views for illustrating the principle ofreciprocating rotation of the actuator 400.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of an actuator 400′, corresponding to FIG.14.

FIG. 20 is an exploded perspective view of the actuator 400′,corresponding to FIG. 15.

FIG. 21 is an exploded perspective view of the actuator 400′,corresponding to FIG. 16.

FIG. 22A to FIG. 22C are views for illustrating the principle ofreciprocating rotation of the actuator 400′, respectively correspondingto FIG. 18A to FIG. 18C.

FIG. 23A to FIG. 23C are views showing structures of modified examplesof a yoke in the actuator 400.

FIG. 24A to FIG. 24C are views showing structures of modified example ofa yoke in the actuator 400′.

FIG. 25 is a graph illustrating the relation between the scan angle ofthe mirror unit 301 and the absolute value of the scanning angularvelocity.

FIG. 26 is a chart illustrating an example of a drive signal of an LDmodule 21.

FIG. 27 a view illustrating an example of spots formed by projectedlight L2 on primary scanning lines when the drive signal of FIG. 26 isused.

FIG. 28 is a view showing a configuration of a control circuitry forcontrolling the interval of pulses of the drive signal of the LD module21 with surrounding circuits.

FIG. 29 is a chart illustrating an example of a drive signal of the LDmodule 21 generated by the circuitry of FIG. 28.

FIG. 30 is a view illustrating an example of spots formed by theprojected light L2 on the primary scanning lines when the drive signalof FIG. 29 is used.

FIG. 31 is a perspective view showing structure of an actuator 400″,corresponding to FIG. 14.

FIG. 32 is a view showing a configuration of a control circuitry forcontrolling the interval of pulses of the drive signal of the LD module21 with surrounding circuits, in the case of using the actuator 400″.

FIG. 33A to FIG. 33C are views corresponding to FIG. 17A to FIG. 17Crespectively, for explaining the reciprocating rotation of the actuator400 in an example adopting a magnet or magnets as ferromagneticmaterial.

FIG. 34 is a view, corresponding to FIG. 23A to FIG. 24C, showing aconfiguration example of a magnet corresponding to the example in FIG.33.

FIG. 35 is a view, corresponding to FIG. 23A to FIG. 24C, showinganother configuration example of magnets corresponding to the example inFIG. 33.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The embodiments of the present invention will be described withreference to the related drawings.

1. OVERALL CONFIGURATION OF AN OBJECT DETECTING APPARATUS (FIG. 1 TOFIG. 4)

First, the overall configuration of the object detecting apparatusdisclosed as an embodiment of the invention will be described in FIG. 1and FIG. 2 with the explanation focusing on the principal configurationand their functions thereof. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating theprincipal configuration of the object detecting apparatus focusing onthe functions thereof. FIG. 2 is an illustration to explain theprinciple of the object detection in the object detecting apparatus.

The object detecting apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of thepresent invention is configured to: project a laser beam outward, detectthe laser beam reflected by an external object and thereafter returnedback to the object detecting apparatus 10, and thereby detect a distanceto the object located along the optical path of the laser beam and thedirection of the object based on the time difference between theprojection timing of the laser beam and the detection time of thereflected light. As shown in FIG. 1, the object detecting apparatus 10includes a light projecting unit 20, a scanning assembly 30, a lightreception unit 40, a front-end circuitry 51, a Time-to-Digital Converter(TDC) circuitry 52, a processor circuitry 53, and an input/output unit54.

The light projection unit 20 is configured to project a laser beamoutward, and includes an LD (laser diode) module 21, a laser drivecircuitry 22, and a collimating lens assembly 23.

The LD module 21 is a laser light source that outputs laser lightaccording to a drive signal applied from the laser drive circuitry 22.Herein, a light source having a plurality of light emitting points isused to improve the output intensity, but the number of light emittingpoints may also be one. The wavelength of the laser is not particularlylimited. For example, near-infrared light is preferred. The laser lightis an example of a light beam.

The laser drive circuitry 22 is configured to generate a drive signalfor lighting the LD module 21 at a specific timing, based on a parametersupplied from the processor circuitry 53 and apply the drive signal tothe LD module 21. The LD module 21 is intermittently lighted by a pulsesignal waveform.

The collimating lens assembly 23 is configured to transform the laserlight output by the LD module 21 into a general collimated light beam.In this embodiment, a collimator lens composed of a convex lens is used,and the focal point of the convex lens is aligned to the center positionof the plurality of light emitting points of the LD module 21.

In addition, the laser beam L1 formed by the collimating lens assembly23 passes through a light transmitting area 41 a of a mirror 41 of thelight reception unit 40, is reflected by a mirror 31 of the scanningassembly 30, and transmits outward as the projected light L2.

The scanning assembly 30 is configured to deflect the laser beamprojected by the light projecting unit 20 to scan within a specifiedfield of view (FOV) 70, and includes an actuator 32 with the mirror 31.The actuator 32 periodically changes the deflecting direction of theprojected light by periodically changing the direction of the mirror 31located on the optical path of the laser beam.

In addition, although only one actuator 32 is shown in FIG. 1, as shownin FIG. 5, the actuator 32 includes two actuators 300, 400 that actuatethe mirror to oscillate around different axes, respectively. Theactuator 300 scans along the primary scan direction and therefore formsa primary scanning (Horizontal) line 71 a, and the actuator 400 changesthe orientation of the mirror generally at the end of the primaryscanning line to form a secondary scanning (Vertical) line 71 b, thusadjusts the scanning position in the secondary scanning direction.

Since the LD module 21 is intermittently fired, the scanning lines 71are actually not continuous lines but a series of discrete beam spots.

The light projecting unit 20 and the scanning assembly 30 constitute alight scanning apparatus.

The light reception unit 40 is configured to detect light incident fromthe external of the object detecting apparatus 10, and includes themirror 41, a collective lens 42, a light-receiving element 43, and anaperture 44. The light to be detected by the light reception unit 40 issupposed only those reflected light of the laser beam projected from theobject detecting apparatus 10 and thus reflected and returned back tothe object detecting apparatus 10. The laser beam is scattered on anobject surface, and only the angular portion reflected in a directionopposite to the optical path when the light is projected is returnedback to the object detecting apparatus 10 as returned light L3. Thereturned light L3 returns back along the retro-reflective directionwhich is substantially the same but the reverse path to the projectedlight L2 and reaches the mirror 41 as the returned light L4.

The mirror 41 is a fixed mirror including a light transmitting area 41 athrough which the laser beam projected by the light projecting unit 20passes, and the mirror 41 is configured to guide the returned light L4to the light-receiving element 43. At the position of the mirror 41, thereturned light L4 is occupying much wider area than the laser beam L1,therefore the proportion of the returned light L4 out of thelight-transmitting area 41 a is incident to the light-reflective area ofthe mirror 41 and thereafter reflected toward the light-receivingelement 43.

The collective lens 42 collects the returned light L4 reflected by themirror 41 and forms an image of such incident light on a specific focalplane.

The light-receiving element 43 is a light detecting element that outputsa detection signal corresponding to the intensity of light falling onits light-receiving surface. In this embodiment, a siliconphotomultiplier (SiPM) is used as the light-receiving element 43. Thiswill be described in detail later.

The aperture 44 is arranged on the focal plane of the collective lens42, and blocks light falling on the area out of an opening area thereofto prevent unwanted light from entering the light-receiving element 43.

The mirror 41, the collective lens 42, and the aperture 44 constitute alight receiving optical assembly.

The front-end circuitry 51 is configured to shape the detection signaloutput by the light-receiving element 43 into a waveform preferred fortiming detection in TDC circuitry 52.

TDC circuitry 52 is a circuitry configured to form, based on the drivesignal provided by the laser drive circuitry 22 and the shaped detectionsignal provided by the front-end circuitry 51, a digital outputrepresenting a time difference between timing t0 of firing pulse of thelaser beam L1 to be projected and timing t1 of pulse of thecorresponding returned light L4.

Between a pulse of the projected light and a pulse of the returnedlight, the time delay occurs when the projected light reaches the objectalong the optical path and returns to the object detecting apparatus 10.Thus, based on the time delay Δt, the distance s from the objectdetecting apparatus 10 to the object can be calculated according tos=c(Δt)/2, as shown in FIG. 2, where c is the velocity of light. In moreaccurate meaning, s is the length of an optical path from the object tothe light-receiving element 43.

The processor circuitry 53 is configured to control the operations ofconfigurations illustrated in FIG. 1. The processor circuitry 53 may beconstructed by a general-purpose computer including a CPU, an ROM, aRAM, or the like and executing software, or by dedicated hardware, or bya combination thereof. For example, the processor circuitry 53calculates the distance to the object based on the output signal of theTDC circuitry 52, and calculates the direction of the object based onthe scanning timing of the scanning assembly 30 (the deflectingdirection of the projected light L2) at the detection timing of thereturned light. As described in detail later, the processor circuitry 53also controls the pulse interval of the LD module 21 based on theorientation of the mirror 31 in the scanning assembly 30.

The input/output unit 54 is configured to input and output informationfrom/to peripherals. The input and output of information here includeswired or wireless communication with peripheral apparatus, receipt ofuser operations with buttons, touch panels, or the like, and indicationto users with displays, lamps, buzzers, vibrators, or the like. Theinformation output from the input/output unit 54 may be informationrelated to the detected object (for example, raw data of the distanceand/or direction, or information indicating detection of an objecthaving a specified size, position, moving speed and the like obtainedbased on the raw data), or information related to the operation state orsetting status of the object detecting apparatus 10. The informationinput by the input/output unit 54 may be, for example, informationrelated to the operation setting of the object detecting apparatus 10.

The input/output unit 54 may communicate with, for example, a vehiclewith an autonomous driving system or a mobility object such as a dronedevice. If the information of the object detected by the objectdetecting apparatus 10 is provided to the autonomous driving system, theautonomous driving system can plan a driving route with reference to theinformation to avoid the detected object.

The present invention may also be implemented as a system including theobject detecting apparatus 10 and its communication counterpart is suchas a vehicle, a drone, or an airplane.

The outline of structure of the object detecting apparatus 10 will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. FIG. 3 is an explodedperspective view of main constituent elements of the object detectingapparatus, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating an externalappearance of the object detecting apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the object detecting apparatus 10 has ahousing formed of a top cover 61 and a rear cover 62 coupled through twocover clips 63, 63. The top cover 61 has a window for allowing theprojected light L2 to pass through, and a protective material 64 thatprevents dust from intruding into the object detecting apparatus 10 andis transparent to the wavelength of the projected light L2 is embeddedinto the window.

The respective constituent elements shown in FIG. 1 are contained insidethe housing. In addition, the actuator 32 shown in FIG. 1 is shown astwo actuators of an actuator 300 for scanning in the primary scanningdirection and an actuator 380 for scanning in the secondary scanningdirection. The mirror unit 301 is provided in the actuator 300.

The mirror 48, not shown in FIG. 1, is an optical element between themirror 41 and the collective lens 42 for changing the orientation of thereturned light L4. Dotted lines 65 indicate the field of view of theobject detecting apparatus 10 (the scanning range of the projected lightL2), corresponding to the field of view 70 in FIG. 1. The circuits suchas the laser drive circuitry 22, the processor circuitry 53, and thelike, and the wires between mentioned assembly/units are omitted in FIG.3 to simplify the drawing.

Described above is the overall structure. Hereinafter, severalconstituent elements of the object detecting apparatus 10 will bedescribed, respectively.

2. SCANNING ASSEMBLY 30 AND ACTUATOR 300 (FIG. 5 TO FIG. 11)

It has been described that the scanning assembly 30 includes actuators300 and 380. The actuator 300 has a characteristic structure, which willbe described.

FIG. 5 shows enlarged appearance and arrangement of the actuators 300,380 in FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 5, the structures of the actuator 300 and the actuator380 are substantially different.

The actuator 380 is used for deflecting the projected light L2 in thesecondary scanning direction, so high-speed motion is not required, andan actuator that rotates the mirror around the physical axis isavailable. The actuator 380 is configured in such a way that a mirror381 is fixed to a shaft 382 and the shaft 382 is inserted into a holder383 such that the shaft 382 is rotatably attached to the holder 383. Bythe magnetic interaction of the permanent magnet attached to the rearside of the mirror 381 and a static coil (not shown), the mirror 381rotates around the rotation axis 384 at the center of the shaft 382, andperforms reciprocal scanning within a specified angle rangecorresponding to the voltage applied to the coil. The motion of themirror may also be halted at a specific angle within the scanning rangeby adjusting the strength of the voltage.

This type of actuator can be classified as a galvanometer mirror.Generally, such structure in which a mirror mounted at one end of theshaft is rotated by applying a force to the other end of the shaft iswidely used. However, like the actuator 380, even if the force isapplied to the shaft at the same longitudinal section as the mountingposition of the mirror, the actuator can also be driven based on thesame principle.

On the other hand, since the actuator 300 is used for deflecting theprojected light L2 in the primary scanning direction, high-speed motionis required, and durability for sustaining the high-speed motion for along time is also required. Therefore, a new actuator that meets suchpurposes is adopted as the actuator 300.

The specific structure of the actuator 300 will be described in detailwith reference to FIG. 6 to FIG. 10. As an outline explanation, theactuator 300 is configured such that the mirror unit 301 is fixed to afirst side of the torsion spring 302 with a straight folded peak wherethe mirror 301 is implemented across the folded peak, and the ends ofthe torsion spring 302 are fixed to a top yoke 314 as a support member.By magnetic interaction between the permanent magnet coupled to a secondside of the torsion spring 302 and a static coil, the torsion spring 302and the mirror unit 301 rotate around a rotation axis 304 approximatelylocated at the center of the folded peak of the torsion spring 302, andreciprocally scan within a specified angle range corresponding to thevoltage applied to the coil.

The scanning assembly 30 reflects and deflects the laser beam L1 throughthe mirror unit 301 and the mirror 381 driven by the actuators 300 and380 respectively, thereby projecting the projected light L2 outwardalong the scanning lines 71 shown in FIG. 1.

Note that an actuator having the same structure as the actuator 300 maybe adopted as an actuator for scanning in the secondary scanningdirection.

The structure and operation principle of the actuator 300 will bedescribed in more detail with reference to FIG. 6 to FIG. 12.

FIG. 6A to FIG. 6D are exploded perspective views showing componentsconstituting the actuator 300 and an outline of assembly processthereof, and FIG. 6D is also a perspective view of the actuator 300completed in the final process. FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective viewillustrating components constituting a movable member 320 of theactuator 300. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an entire structure of themovable member 320 for illustrating the function of the mirror unit 301.FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a cross section of the actuator300 shown in FIG. 6D (a cross section with a plane that passes throughthe vicinity of the center of planar arms 302 b and is perpendicular tothe longitudinal direction of a folded peak 302 c) as seen from an arrowM. To simplify the drawing, a coil assembly 313 is omitted and a windingstructure of the coil is schematically shown in FIG. 9. FIG. 10 is anexplanatory view of the centroid of mass of the entire movable member320. FIG. 11 shows a configuration of a comparative example thereof,FIG. 12 shows a configuration of a modified example thereof, and detailswill be described later.

As shown in FIG. 6A, the actuator 300 includes a core yoke 311, a frameyoke 312, a coil assembly 313, a top yoke 314, and the movable member320.

The frame yoke 312 and the top yoke 314 are made of magnetic substanceand form a wall structure surrounding the coil. The frame yoke 312 andthe top yoke 314 are fixed with each other by four screws 315penetrating four pairs of screw holes 312 b, 314 b to hold the coilassembly 313 inside.

The coil assembly 313 includes a driving coil 316 and a sensing coil 317wound around a non-magnetic bobbin 313 a as shown in FIG. 9, and iscovered with a protective cover 313 c. A through hole 313 b which allowsthe core section 311 a of the core yoke 311 passing through is formed inthe center section of the bobbin 313 a. The protective cover 313 c isprovided with a terminal for applying a drive signal to the driving coil316 and a terminal for outputting a signal generated in the sensing coil317 at positions not interfering with the magnetic wall.

The core yoke 311 includes a core section 311 a made of a ferromagneticbody that serves as a core of the driving coil 316 and the sensing coil317.

The core section 311 a of the core yoke 311 is inserted into acorresponding hole 312 a of the frame yoke 312 as shown in FIG. 6B, thenthe core section 311 a is inserted into the through hole 313 b of thecoil assembly 313 to position the coil assembly 313 as shown in FIG. 6C,and the top yoke 314 and the frame yoke 312 are fixed with each other bythe screws 315 as shown in FIG. 6D.

The core section 311 a is fixed to the frame yoke 312 in the steps ofFIG. 6A to FIG. 6D, and the coil assembly 313 is fixed to the coresection 311 a (and the frame yoke 312) in the steps of FIG. 6B to FIG.6C. It is also preferred to perform these assembly process by othertypes of screw not mentioned above, or by welding or bonding process, orby press fit process where a member inserted is slightly larger than aspace on a reception side, or by a combination with these manufactureprocesses.

In FIG. 6B and FIG. 6C, the movable member 320 is omitted to save thedrawing space.

As shown in FIG. 7, the movable member 320 includes a permanent magnet321 in addition to the mirror unit 301 and the torsion spring 302.

The torsion spring 302 is formed by folding a metal plate by pressmanufacture, bending manufacture, or the like. The torsion spring 302 isin a folded shape with a straight folded peak 302 c with a V-shapedcross section. Planar arms 302 b respectively protruding to both sidesso as to be across the folded peak 302 c are formed near thelongitudinal middle section of the folded peak 302 c, and planar arms302 a respectively protruding to both sides so as to be across thefolded peak 302 c are formed at both longitudinal ends of the foldedpeak 302 c respectively. The folded peak 302 c and the planar arms 302 aand 302 b are composed as a unity. By forming those portions by bendinga single metal plate, the torsion spring 302 with sufficient strength atlow manufacturing cost can be realized.

All of the planar arms 302 a at both longitudinal ends and the planararms 302 b are on the same plane in the natural state. However, when aforce of rotating around the folded peak 302 c is applied to the planararms 302 b while the planar arms 302 a at both longitudinal ends arefixed on the same plane, the folded peak 302 c is twisted, and theplanar arms 302 b are rotated around the folded peak 302 c. When theapplication of the force is stopped, the torsion of the folded peak 302c is released by the restoring force of the spring, and the planar arms302 b returns to the same plane as the planar arms 302 a.

The permanent magnet 321 is fixed to a side of the planar arms 302 bopposite to the folded peak 302 c so that its N-pole 321 n and S-pole321 s are located at the separated sides across the folded peak 302 c.The positions of the N-pole 321 n and the S-pole 321 s may also beopposite to the figure. The permanent magnet 321 may be fixed to theplanar arms 302 b by any method such as bonding or welding.

As shown in FIG. 7, the mirror unit 301 is formed by partiallyoverlapping and bonding a first mirror 301 a and two second mirrors 301b. The mirror unit is furtherly fixed to the torsion spring 302 bybonding the two second mirrors 301 b to the planar arms 302 brespectively on the surfaces towards the folded peak 302 c. An adhesivemay be adopted for the bonding, but the type with lower curing shrinkageis preferred.

As shown in FIG. 9, the first mirror 301 a does not contact with the topof the folded peak 302 c, and there is a small gap between them. Thatis, the first mirror 301 a is coupled only to the second mirrors 301 b,and the second mirrors 301 b serve as spacers. Since the folded peak 302c is slightly deformed when the torsion spring 302 is twisted, a certainspace is preferably to ensure the folded peak 302 c not interfering withsurrounding components even if the deformation occurs.

The movable member 320 is furtherly fixed to a movable member supportpart 314 a of the top yoke 314 in a step illustrated between FIG. 6C andFIG. 6D. The components shown in FIG. 7 are assembled together inadvance. The fixation may be performed by any method. For example, theplanar arms 302 a may be fixed to the movable member support part 314 aby screws (not shown), or the planar arms 302 a may be bonded or weldedto the movable member support part 314 a, or the planar arms 302 a maybe respectively inserted into slits formed in the movable member supportpart 314 a.

In a state where the movable member 320 is fixed to the top yoke 314,the planar arms 302 b of the torsion spring 302 and the permanent magnet321 are opposed to the coil assembly 313 through an opening 314 c of thetop yoke 314. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, one end of the axisof the driving coil 316 disposed in the coil assembly 313 faces themidpoint among the N-pole 321 n and the S-pole 321 s of the permanentmagnet 321. The driving coil 316 is disposed on a side opposite to thetorsion spring 302 as viewed from the permanent magnet 321.

When the driving coil 316 is powered on in this state, for example, whenthe end facing the permanent magnet 321 becomes an N-pole, the S-pole321 s of the permanent magnet 321 is pulled close to the driving coil316, the N-pole 321 n is pushed away from the driving coil 316.Therefore the force interacting with the permanent magnet 321 shall bethe clockwise direction if seen in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 9.This force is also applied to the planar arms 302 b of the torsionspring 302, and the torsion spring 302 is rotated and twisted clockwisearound the virtual rotation axis 304 near the center of the crosssection of the folded peak 302 c. Thereby, the mirror unit 301 coupledto the planar arms 302 b also rotates clockwise around the rotation axis304.

The rotation is stopped at a position where the magnetic force generatedbetween the driving coil 316 and the permanent magnet 321 is balancedwith the restoring force of the torsion spring 302. The speed and stopposition of the rotation can be adjusted by changing the intensity ofcurrent applied to the driving coil 316.

After the permanent magnet 321 and the mirror unit 301 rotate clockwiseto an appropriate position, when the direction of current applied to thedriving coil 316 is reversed, the end facing the permanent magnet 321becomes an S-pole, the N-pole 321 n of the permanent magnet 321 ispulled close to the driving coil 316, the S-pole 321 s is pushed awayfrom the driving coil 316. Therefore, the force interacting with thepermanent magnet 321 shall be the counterclockwise direction if seen inthe cross-sectional view of FIG. 9. This force is also applied to theplanar arms 302 b of the torsion spring 302 in the same manner as in thecase of the clockwise direction, and the torsion spring 302 is rotatedcounterclockwise around the rotation axis 304 and twisted in theopposite direction. Thereby, the mirror unit 301 coupled to the planararms 302 b also rotates counterclockwise around the rotation axis 304.

By reciprocally changing the direction of voltage or current of thedrive signal applied to the driving coil 316, as shown by arrows V inFIG. 9, the mirror unit 301 performs the rotation in the clockwise andcounterclockwise direction reciprocally within a certain angular rangearound the rotation axis 304. That is, the mirror unit 301 can beoscillated along a predetermined moving path. Accordingly, periodicaldeflection of the laser beam L1 required for scanning in the primaryscanning direction as described in FIG. 1 can be realized.

In consideration of the lifespan of the torsion spring 302, theoscillation is preferably symmetrical with respect to the natural state.But this is not essential. For example, the oscillation can also beperformed within an angular range with one end thereof at a positionnear the natural state by periodically turning on and off the voltageapplied to the driving coil 316. The mirror unit 301 can be oscillatedwithin an arbitrary angular range by periodically changing the voltageor current applied to the driving coil 316 within an appropriate range,as long as the angular range is in the rotatable limit of the torsionspring 302.

However, as shown in FIG. 8, in the mirror unit 301 of the movablemember 320, the reflecting surface (first reflecting surface) of thefirst mirror 301 a reflects and deflects the laser beam L1 projected bythe collimating lens assembly 23 to form projected light L2. On theother hand, both the reflecting surface of the first mirror 301 a andthe reflecting surfaces (second reflecting surface) of the secondmirrors 301 b reflect the returned light L3 from the outside to form thereturned light L4 to be guided to the light reception unit 40 along thesame optical axis as that of the laser beam L1.

Since the spot of the laser beam L1 is small, the size of the firstmirror 301 a to form the projected light L2 may be also small, as longas the laser beam L1 can be received within the first reflecting surfacein the entire possible angular range of rotation of the mirror unit 301.

On the other hand, since the returned light L4 is a part of theprojected light L2 scattered on an object to be detected and returnedback, it is preferable that the returned light L4 within the extendedacceptable area is guided to the light reception unit 40, so as toimprove the detection sensitivity. Therefore, the total size of thefirst mirror 301 a and the second mirrors 301 b is preferably designedas large as possible.

In the mirror unit 301, the first mirror 301 a and the second mirrors301 b are separate entities both to ensure a large reflection area andto improve the energy efficiency of rotation of the mirror unit 301, andfurtherly achieve high-speed rotation, that is, to achieve high-speedscanning with low power consumption. This point will be furtherdescribed.

Firstly, as in the comparative example shown in FIG. 11, we assume thatone mirror 501 with enough size is placed across the vicinity of the topof the folded peak 302 c. In this case, spacers to support the mirror501 on the planar arms 302 b of the torsion spring 302 are necessary,but they are omitted in FIG. 11.

In such a structure, a large mass of the mirror 501 is positioned faraway from the rotation axis 304 on the side of the folded peak 302 c ofthe torsion spring 302, and thus the inertia moment of the movablemember 320 related to the rotation around the rotation axis 304 becomeslarge.

To reduce the inertia moment, it is thought to avoid placing the mirror501 over the folded peak 302 c, but preferably placing the mirror 501 onthe planar arms 302 b which is closer to the rotation axis 304. That is,the mirror 501 is preferably placed at the positions of the secondmirrors 301 b. However, the mirror should not interfere with the foldedpeak 302 c. Accordingly, if the mirror 501 is simply divided into twomirrors and respectively placed at the positions of the second mirrors301 b, the end edge of the mirrors is positioned farther from therotation axis 304 than the case of the one mirror 501, which results inlarger inertia moment in total.

In order to solve such a problem, the mirror unit 301 is divided into afirst mirror 301 a across the folded peak 302 c and second mirrors 301 bdisposed on the planar arms 302 b, so that the mirror is placed close tothe rotation axis 304 as a whole while an enough area is still ensured.

According to this configuration, the larger second mirrors 301 b areclose to the rotation axis 304, and the inertia moment related to therotation around the rotation axis 304 can be reduced as compared withthe configuration of FIG. 11.

That is, the sizes of the second mirrors 301 b can be reduced by anamount equivalent to the size of the first mirror 301 a, so that thedistances from the rotation axis 304 to each end edge of the secondmirrors 301 b do not become too long. Although the first mirror 301 ashould still be placed at a position away from the rotation axis 304 toa certain extent to avoid interfering with the folded peak 302 c, aslong as it crosses away the folded peak 302 c, it can be directly fixedon the second mirrors 301 b without occupying too much space, so thatthe distance from the rotation axis 304 to the ends of the first mirror301 a can be reduced. In such circumstance, a distribution of the masscan be prevented from being placed at a position away from the rotationaxis 304, and the inertia moment can be reduced.

Thereby, the energy required to twist the torsion spring 302 and rotatethe mirrors can be suppressed low. In the torsional oscillating system,the resonant frequency is proportional to the one-half power of thevalue obtained by dividing the torsional rigidity K of the spring by theinertia moment I. Thus, if the inertia moment is reduced, the resonancefrequency of the movable member 320 can be improved, and high-speedscanning can be achieved.

The first mirror 301 a and the second mirrors 301 b are respectivelyformed in a rectangular shape with their longitudinal directions alongthe rotation axis 304 to further reduce the inertia moment.

In order to improve the resonant frequency of the movable member 320, aspring with larger spring constant may be used as the torsion spring302. However, although a thicker metal plate has a large springconstant, the manufacturing error becomes large when the thicknessincreases. Therefore, from the manufacture point of view, it is muchpreferable to use the mirror unit 301 in the shape described above toimprove the resonant frequency rather than simply increasing the springconstant.

In order to achieve the above merits, if the mirror unit 301 can beseparated into a first planar mirror 301 a and second planar mirrors 301b, the mirror unit 301 can be easily manufactured. But this is notnecessary. The first mirror 301 a and the second mirrors 301 b may alsobe integrated to be unified, and a stepped mirror with steps between thefirst reflecting surface and the respective second reflecting surfacesmay be adopted. A mirror 301′ having a cross section shown in FIG. 12 inwhich a first reflecting surface 301 a 1 and second reflecting surfaces301 b 1 are smoothly connected may also be adopted.

In short, in the case where the plane including the second reflectingsurface is closer to the rotation axis 304 of the torsion spring 302than the plane including the first reflecting surface, as the exampleshown in FIG. 6 to FIG. 10, lower inertia moment can be realized, andthe resonant frequency can be improved.

On the basis of the above, since the centroid of mass of the secondmirrors 301 b of the movable member 320 is located substantially on therotation axis 304, by placing the centroids of mass of the remainingmembers, that is, the first mirror 301 a, the permanent magnet 321 andthe torsion spring 302, on the rotation axis 304 by adjusting the sizeand weight of each member, the centroid of mass 305 of the entiremovable member 320 can be placed on the rotation axis 304 as shown inFIG. 10.

By placing the centroid of mass of the movable member 320 substantiallyon the rotation axis 304, unnecessary vibration can be eliminated whenthe mirror unit 301 rotates with the torsion of the torsion spring 302,so that the resonant frequency can be further improved.

Even if the centroid of mass of the movable member 320 is not accuratelylocated on the rotation axis 304, the deviation can be ignored as longas the vibration caused by the deviation can be ignored. Since themirror unit 301 has a large part of the mass of the movable member 320,if only the centroid of mass of the mirror unit 301 is placed on therotation axis 304 or slightly shifted to the opposite side of thepermanent magnet 321, the centroid of mass of the movable member 320 canbe placed substantially on the rotation axis 304.

If the centroid of mass of the cross section of the movable member 320in a plane perpendicular to the rotation axis 304 is located on therotation axis 304 at all points on the rotation axis 304, the effect ofimproving the resonant frequency is particularly remarkable. However, aslong as the centroid of mass of the entire movable member 320 is locatedat surrounding position on the rotation axis 304, a sufficientlymeaningful effect can be achieved.

In the actuator 300, the end portions of the movable member 320 arefixed to the top yoke 314 respectively, but the portion near theactually moving planar arms 302 b floats in the air. Accordingly, nofriction between the components occurs during the oscillation, and thuseven if the actuator 300 is continuously driven for a long time, heat orwear is generally not produced. Therefore, high durability can beobtained.

Since the coil assembly 313 is surrounded by the magnetic top yoke 314and frame yoke 312, leakage of magnetic force generated in the drivingcoil 316 can be prevented, and high driving efficiency can be obtained.However, such a magnetic wall structure to house the coil assembly 313is not essential.

The material of the torsion spring 302 may be, for example, stainlesssteel or phosphor bronze. Besides, any material that can form an elasticspring may be used. It is discovered by simulation by the inventor thata larger spring constant can be obtained and the resonant frequency ofthe torsion spring 302 can be improved through the V-shaped crosssection of the folded peak 302 c. Accordingly, the folded peak 302 cwith the V-shaped cross section is adopted in this embodiment.

However, the cross section is not limited to the V-shape. Other shapessuch as n-shape, U-shape, or M-shape, W-shape, or a hollow structurewith a thin wall without an opening boundary is also preferred, as longas the specific shape allows the torsion spring to function.

The structure with the straight folded peak 302 c can improve therigidity in the direction orthogonal to the rotation axis as comparedwith the torsion spring of a planar structure. The enhancement of therigidity is very useful to a stable scanning in an environment wherevibration always occurs, for example, on a vehicle, and also toguarantee durability of the swing structure.

The invented torsion spring with the folded peak 302 c is athree-dimensional structure and is relatively thick as an entity.Therefore, the torsion spring is easily manufactured simply by folding aplanar substrate. On the other hand, it is difficult to form a torsionspring of a folded peak 302 c with an enough height by wafer depositionthrough MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) process.

The driving coil 316 is disposed in a direction perpendicular to theplanar arms 302 b in natural state in the example of FIG. 9. However,the direction is not limited to that in FIG. 9 as long as one end of theaxis thereof is opposed to the midpoint among the N-pole 321 n and theS-pole 321 s of the permanent magnet 321. For example, if the axis isparallel to the folded peak 302 c, oscillation of the mirror unit 301can be also realized similarly to the configuration of FIG. 9.

It is not essential that the driving coil 316 is housed in the coilassembly 313 or wound on the bobbin. The driving coil 316 may also bedirectly wound on the core section 311 a.

Further, the sensing coil 317 is provided to control the pulse intervalof the laser beam L1 as described later with reference to FIG. 25 toFIG. 30, and is not required if the control is not performed.

The permanent magnet 321 may also be replaced with an electric magnetthat is powered on when the mirror is driven. However, the permanentmagnet 321 is preferable in merit of simple structure, small assemblyerror, and lower noise.

3. ANOTHER STRUCTURAL EMBODIMENT OF ACTUATOR (FIG. 13 TO FIG. 23C)

The actuator 300 adopted in the scanning assembly 30 in the abovedescribed embodiment may be substituted with another actuator where theoperating principle is completely different from the actuator 300. Theactuator 400 will be described as an example of said alternativeactuators.

FIG. 13 shows a schematic appearance and arrangement of the actuators400 and 380 as illustrated in FIG. 5 while only substituting theactuator 300 to the actuator 400.

Briefly, the actuator 400 is constructed such that a mirror 401 is fixedto a permanent magnet 410 and the permanent magnet 410 is held bybearings 403, 405. By magnetic interaction among the permanent magnet410, a soft magnetic material as a yoke 430 is disposed around thepermanent magnet 410, and a driving coil 420 (see FIG. 14) is disposedbetween the permanent magnet 410 and the yoke 430. When the current isapplied to the driving coil 420, with the magnetic interaction betweenthe permanent magnet 410 and the driving coil 420, both the permanentmagnet 410 and the mirror 401 can reciprocally rotate as one unit withina specific angle range around a rotation axis 404 which is passingthrough the center of the permanent magnet 410.

The scanning assembly 30 reflects and deflects the laser beam L1 by themirror 401 driven by the actuator 400 and the mirror 381 driven by thesame actuator 380 as that shown in FIG. 5, and thus projects theprojected light L2 outward along the scanning lines 71 shown in FIG. 1.

Note that an actuator with the same structure as the actuator 400 may beadopted as an actuator for scanning in the secondary scanning direction.

The structure of the actuator 400 will be described in more detail withreference to FIG. 14 to FIG. 16.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the actuator 400. FIG. 15 and FIG. 16are exploded perspective views of the actuator 400, respectively. FIG.16 shows a state where the components around the permanent magnet 410are in the exploded view compared with FIG. 15.

As shown in FIG. 14 to FIG. 16, the actuator 400 includes the mirror401, a mirror holder 402, the bearing 403, the bearing 405, a magnetholder 406, the permanent magnet 410, the driving coil 420, and the yoke430.

The mirror 401 is a planar mirror with a reflecting surface forreflecting the laser beam L1 and the returned light L4.

The mirror holder 402 fixes the mirror 401 to the bearing 403 so as torotate with the movement of the permanent magnet 410 and makes thecentroid of mass of the mirror 401 located on the central axis (rotationaxis) of the permanent magnet 410.

In the example of FIG. 14, the upper end of the cylindrical permanentmagnet 410 is pressed into a thin-walled portion 402 b to insert thepermanent magnet 410 therein, whereby the mirror holder 402 is fixed tothe permanent magnet 410. Thereafter, a mirror holding portion 402 a isinserted through an inner ring 403 a of the bearing 403 from the lowerside to the upper side as illustrated in the figure and then pressedinto the inner ring 403 a, and thereby the mirror holder 402 is embeddedand fixed to the inner ring 403 a. The mirror 401 is bonded to themirror holding portion 402 a.

The bearing 403 and the bearing 405 hold the permanent magnet 410respectively to rotate around its central axis.

The permanent magnet 410 is fixed to the bearing 403 via the mirrorholder 402 in the same way as described above. The permanent magnet 410is fixed to the bearing 405 by pressing an end thereof to a magnetholding portion 406 a of the magnet holder 406 formed to embed thepermanent magnet 410 therein, whereby the permanent magnet 410 isintegrated with the magnet folder 406, and then pressing a bearingconnecting portion 406 b of the magnet holder 406 into an inner ring 405a of the bearing 405.

As described above, the permanent magnet 410 and the mirror 401 areintegrally held by the bearings 403, 405 to be rotatable together withthe inner ring 403 a and the inner ring 405 a.

The driving coil 420 is fixed to the inner side of the yoke 430 bybonding, welding, or the like, and the yoke 430 is fixed to the bearing403 and the bearing 405 respectively by bonding, welding, or the likesuch that the yoke 430 does not hinder rotation of the inner rings 403 aand 405 a.

The fixing methods such as embedding, bonding, and welding describedabove are only examples, and other methods may be adopted if needed.

In the actuator 400, the permanent magnet 410 is cylindrical, andassuming that the cylinder is divided into two areas by a planeincluding the central axis thereof, an N-pole 410 n thereof is locatedin one area, and an S-pole 410 s thereof is located in the other area(refer to FIG. 17 and FIG. 18). The N-pole and the S-pole are not at thetwo longitudinal ends.

The driving coil 420 is provided with a first portion 421 including awire bundle generally parallel to (the central axis of) the permanentmagnet 410 and a second portion 422 which includes a wire bundlegenerally parallel to the permanent magnet 410. Current flows inopposite directions in the first portion 421 and the second portion 422when powered on. The two portions 421, 422 are located on opposite sidesof the permanent magnet 410. The first portion 421 and the secondportion 422 are connected with each other through a first connectingportion 423 and a second connecting portion 424. The first connectingportion 423 and the second connecting portion 424 are respectively woundnear the longitudinal ends of the permanent magnet 410 along the surfaceof the permanent magnet 410.

As shown in FIG. 14, one turn of the driving coil 420 is, for example,ascending in the first portion 421 from bottom to top along thepermanent magnet 410, entering the first connecting portion 423 near theupper end of the permanent magnet 410, wound clockwise along the surfaceof the permanent magnet 410 as viewed from the upper side in FIG. 14,then entering the second portion 422, descending in the second portion422 from top to bottom along the permanent magnet 410, entering thesecond connecting portion 424 near the lower end of the permanent magnet410, wound counterclockwise along the surface of the permanent magnet410 as viewed from the upper side in FIG. 14, and connected to the firstportion 421 of next turn. No wire is disposed at positions opposing thelongitudinal end faces of the permanent magnet 410.

The driving coil 420 with such configuration enables current flow inopposite directions on the N-pole 410 n side and the S-pole 410 s sidethrough only one coil, so that torques can be simultaneously generatedon the N-pole 410 n side and the S-pole 410 s side. The current flow inthe first connecting portion 423 and the second connecting portion 424generates no torque against the permanent magnet 410. However, since thewires of the portions 423, 424 are short, little energy loss is causedby the resistance thereof. For these reasons, the torque against thepermanent magnet 410 can be generated with high energy efficiencythrough the driving coil 420.

The driving coil 420 can be easily manufactured only by bending a planarsingle-core coil into a U shape.

The actuator 400 includes a terminal and a wire for applying a drivesignal to the driving coil 420, and the driving coil 420 is not incontact with the permanent magnet 410.

The yoke 430 is a ferromagnetic material disposed outside the drivingcoil 420, is composed of a first portion 431, a second portion 432 and athird portion 433 respectively formed of a flat plate, and has a crosssection which is substantially square but with an opening at one side.

In the actuator 400 of the above configuration, the yoke 430 is disposedin such a way that, on a plane perpendicular to the central axis of thepermanent magnet 410, the distance from the central axis of thepermanent magnet 410 to the yoke 430 is different according todirections viewed from the central axis of the permanent magnet 410.That is, according to the direction viewed from the permanent magnet410, the distance between the permanent magnet 410 and the yoke 430 islonger at some direction and shorter at other direction. It can beconsidered that the distance from the permanent magnet 410 to the yoke430 is infinite in the direction of the opening side of the square ofthe yoke 430.

If the yoke 430 is disposed in this manner, when no voltage is appliedto the driving coil 420, the N-pole 410 n and the S-pole 410 s of thepermanent magnet 410 are stopped by the magnetic force toward thedirection closest to the yoke 430. In the case where the two polescannot simultaneously face the “nearest direction”, the poles arestopped toward an appropriate equilibrium direction.

In the example of FIG. 14, the permanent magnet 410 is stopped such thatone of the N-pole 410 n and the S-pole 410 s approximately face thecenter of the first portion 431, and the other one approximately facesthe center of the second portion 432. Such location is referred to as a“neutral position”. When the permanent magnet 410 is slightly rotatedfrom the neutral position by applying voltage to the driving coil 420,the permanent magnet 410 will return to the neutral position if thevoltage is turned off. In this meaning, it is said that a restoringforce for returning the permanent magnet 410 to the neutral positionacts as the actuator 400. That is, the permanent magnet 410 combinedwith the yoke 430 operates as a magnetic spring with its natural stateat the neutral position.

The permanent magnet 410 and the mirror 401 perform reciprocatingrotation utilizing the restoring force. Accordingly, if the actuator 400is driven by a specific driving frequency, for example, driven by theresonant frequency of the movable portion of the actuator 400 or itsapproximate frequency, high-speed scanning can be achieved with lowpower consumption compared with a general galvanometer mirror that doesnot produce a restoring force.

The distance from the permanent magnet 410 to the third portion 433 ispreferably longer than the distance to the first portion 431 or thesecond portion 432. When the distance from the permanent magnet 410 tothe third portion 433 is shorter, this orientation does not become aneutral position, because when one pole faces the third portion 433,there is no yoke opposed to the other pole. However, the relationshipbetween the orientation of the permanent magnet 410 and the strength ofthe restoring force may become locally distorted.

The principle of reciprocating rotation of the actuator 400 will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 17A to FIG. 18C.

FIG. 17A to FIG. 18C schematically show the cross sections of thepermanent magnet 410, the driving coil 420, and the yoke 430 on a planeperpendicular to the permanent magnet 410 as viewed from the mirror 401.Hatchings indicating the cross sections are omitted, and only the firstportion 431 and the second portion 432 related to the formation of theneutral position are shown among the yoke 430. Arrows B and B′ indicaterepresentatives of the orientations of magnetic field lines generated bythe permanent magnet 410 in each state. Arrows F and F′ indicate thedirections of force applied to the permanent magnet 410 in each state.In all cases, the lengths of the arrows do not necessarily correspond tothe magnitudes of force.

If the actuator 400 is held with no voltage applied to the driving coil420, the permanent magnet 410 stops after rotating to the neutralposition shown in FIG. 17A and FIG. 18A. The position at which theN-pole 410 n and the S-pole 410 s are exchanged from the state of FIG.17A and FIG. 18A is also the neutral position, in which case the samereciprocating rotation can also be performed. However, the explanationhere is made assuming that the position of FIG. 17A is the neutralposition.

Considering that a voltage is applied to the driving coil 420 from thestate of FIG. 17A, FIG. 17B shows that current i flows through the firstportion 421 from the front side to the rear side, and current −iconversely flows through the second portion 422 from the rear side tothe front side.

In this state, a clockwise magnetic field is formed around the firstportion 421, a counterclockwise magnetic field is formed around thesecond portion 422, and a magnetic field having bottom to top magneticfield lines in the figure is formed nearby the permanent magnet 410. Thepermanent magnet 410 is subjected to an upward force on the N-pole 410 nin the magnetic field, and rotates clockwise. This force can beconsidered as a reaction of Lorentz force generated by the currentflowing through the driving coil 420 within the magnetic field generatedby the permanent magnet 410.

Then, when the application of voltage to the driving coil 420 is stoppedafter the permanent magnet 410 is rotated to some extent as shown inFIG. 17C, the permanent magnet 410 returns to the natural state of FIG.17A because of the magnetic force between the magnetic poles and theyoke 430.

On the other hand, when voltage in a direction opposite to the case ofFIG. 17B is applied to the driving coil 420, and current flows in theopposite direction as shown in FIG. 18B, a magnetic field having top tobottom magnetic field lines in the figure is formed nearby the permanentmagnet 410. The permanent magnet 410 is subjected to a downward force onthe N-pole 410 n in the magnetic field, and rotates counterclockwise.

Then, when the application of voltage to the driving coil 420 is stoppedafter the permanent magnet 410 is rotated to some extent as shown inFIG. 18C, the permanent magnet 410 returns to the natural state of FIG.18A (the same state as FIG. 17A) because of the magnetic force betweenthe magnetic poles and the yoke 430.

The above process is repeated by applying a drive signal having aperiodically varying voltage or current to the driving coil 420, andthereby the actuator 400 performs reciprocating rotation (oscillation)of the permanent magnet 410 and the mirror 401.

The angular range of the rotation may be symmetrical with respect to thenatural state, or may be asymmetrical. For example, the swing can alsobe performed within a certain angular range with one end thereof at aposition near the neutral position by periodically turning on andturning off the voltage applied to the driving coil 420. The mirror 401can oscillate within an arbitrary angular range by periodically changingthe voltage or current applied to the driving coil 420 within anappropriate range.

In this case, when the permanent magnet 410 is stopped at the end of theoscillation range, energy is not required for braking, and turning offthe application of voltage to the driving coil 420 is enough. Also whenthe permanent magnet 410 returns from the end of the oscillation rangeto the neutral position, voltage is not required. When the permanentmagnet 410 is rotated from the neutral position to the end of theoscillation range, it is necessary to apply voltage to the driving coil420 for overcoming the restoring force to the neutral position. However,even if this point is considered, the actuator 400 can oscillate thepermanent magnet 410 and the mirror 401 with low power consumptioncompared with a galvanometer mirror without restoring force.

If the rotation angle of the permanent magnet 410 is too large whileoscillating, the permanent magnet 410 cannot return to the originalneutral position when the application of the voltage is stopped, and mayreturn to another neutral position where the N-pole 410 n and the S-pole410 s are exchanged. Therefore, the oscillation angular range ispreferably not too large. In the example of FIG. 17 and FIG. 18, thepermanent magnet 410 should not be rotated up to +90 degrees or −90degrees or more from the initial neutral position.

In addition, when the displacement from the natural state becomes large,there is also a problem that the energy efficiency will reduce. This isbecause, when the displacement becomes large, the poles are affected notonly by the wires opposed in the natural state but also by the wires onthe opposite side. Since the current flows through the wires on theopposite side in the opposite direction, the magnetic force thereofdecelerates the rotation.

From these viewpoints, if the angular range of rotation is symmetricalwith respect to the natural state, a relatively wider oscillation rangecan be obtained, and higher energy efficiency can be obtained.Accordingly, the symmetrical oscillation range is preferable.

In the actuator 400 described above, the permanent magnet 410 iscylindrical, but the shape of the permanent magnet is not limitedthereto. The symmetry is high in the cylindrical shape, so that thestability of rotation can be improved. However, if the bearing or theholder can be made in an appropriate shape to hold the permanent magnet410 to rotate, the cylindrical shape is not required. For example, aprismatic shape is also acceptable. In the case of a cylindrical or aprismatic, not only a longitudinal shape with a height larger than thesize of the bottom surface but also a disc shape with a diameter of thebottom surface larger than the height may also be acceptable. Thecross-sectional area may also be variable along with the position in theheight direction, for example, barrel shape with a largercross-sectional area near the center or another shape having a largercross-sectional area near the ends.

Here, FIG. 19 to FIG. 21 show the structure of an actuator 400′ with aprismatic permanent magnet. FIG. 19 to FIG. 21 are perspective views orexploded perspective views corresponding to FIG. 14 to FIG. 16 showingthe structure of the actuator 400′. In FIG. 19 to FIG. 21, the sameportions as those of the actuator 400 are denoted by the same referencesigns as those of FIG. 14 to FIG. 16.

In the actuator 400′, the permanent magnet 410′ is in a quadrangularprismatic shape, and its cross section on a plane perpendicular to therotation axis is rectangular (refer to FIG. 22). Correspondingly, thethin-walled portion 402 b′ of the mirror holder 402′ and the magnetholding portion 406 a′ of the magnet holder 406′ to embed the permanentmagnet 410′ therein respectively have rectangular cross sections. Othercomponents are the same as those of the actuator 400. The mirror holdingportion 402 a of the mirror holder 402′ and the bearing connectingportion 406 b of the magnet holder 406′ are also in the same shape asthose of the actuator 400.

As described above, the permanent magnet 410′ with a rectangular crosssection can have a neutral position similarly to the permanent magnet410 of the actuator 400 due to the magnetic force between the N-pole 410n′ and S-pole 401 s′ and the yoke 430 respectively. The permanent magnet410′ is subjected to a force in the rotation direction through themagnetic field generated by the current flowing through the driving coil420, and when the current flowing through the driving coil 420 is turnedoff, the permanent magnet 410′ returns to the neutral position, which isalso the same as the case of the actuator 400. FIG. 22A to FIG. 22Cshows the force applied to the permanent magnet 410′ of the actuator400′ using an example corresponding to FIG. 18A to FIG. 18C.

Modified examples of the shape of the yoke 430 will be described. Theyoke 430 is not limited to the shape shown in FIG. 13 and FIG. 14. Forexample, in the actuator 400, the shapes shown in FIG. 23A to FIG. 23Cmay also be employed. In FIG. 23A to FIG. 23C, the cross-sectional shapeof the yoke on the plane perpendicular to the central axis of thepermanent magnet 410 is schematically shown together with thecross-sectional shapes of the permanent magnet 410 and the first portion421 and the second portion 422 of the driving coil 420.

The same shapes may be employed in the actuator 400′, and a structuralexample in this case is shown in FIG. 24A to FIG. 24C. Since thefunction of the yoke in each shape is the same as that of the actuator400, a representative will be described with reference to FIG. 23A toFIG. 23C.

The yoke 440 shown in FIG. 23A is in the same shape with one openingside similar to the yoke 430. However, unlike the yoke 430, the lowerside in the figure corresponding to the second portion 432 is a curvedportion 443. The yoke may also be in such a shape including a curvedsurface.

The cross section of the yoke 450 shown in FIG. 23B is in a rectangularshape, which covers the entire peripheral area of the permanent magnet410 (but does not need to cover the longitudinal ends). Even if theentire peripheral area is covered, if portions (a first portion 451 anda second portion 452) at which the yoke 450 is near the central axis ofthe permanent magnet and portions (other portions) at which the yoke 450is relatively far from the central axis are formed on the yoke 450, andthe “near” portions are opposed to each other, the orientations at whichtwo poles of the permanent magnet 410 respectively face the “near”portions become neutral positions, and the reciprocating rotation of thepermanent magnet 410 similar to that described with reference to FIG. 13to FIG. 18C can be performed.

The cross section of the yoke 460 shown in FIG. 23C is in an ellipticalshape, which covers the entire peripheral area of the permanent magnet410. Even if the entire yoke 460 is constituted by a continuous curvedsurface, if “near” portions (portions indicated by signs 461, 462) and“far” portions (other portions) are formed on the yoke 460 similarly tothe case of FIG. 23B, and the “near” portions are opposed to each other,the reciprocating rotation of the permanent magnet 410 can also beperformed as in the case of FIG. 23B. However, from the viewpoint ofconvenience of fixing the driving coil 420 to the yoke 430, the drivingcoil 420 is preferably fixed to the planar portions as in the yoke 450.

If only the first portion 431 and the second portion 432 of FIG. 17A arepresent to construct a minimum form, the neutral position of thepermanent magnet 410 can also be generated, and the reciprocatingrotation of the permanent magnet 410 similar to the case described withreference to FIG. 13 to FIG. 18C can also be performed. The firstportion 431 and the second portion 432 may also be narrower in shape.However, in the circumstance of forming a closed magnetic circuitry andefficiently generating the magnetic force of the permanent magnet 410for rotation, the peripheral area of the permanent magnet 410 ispreferably covered by the yoke 450 as wide as possible. From thisviewpoint, the yoke 450 and the yoke 460 cover the entire peripheralarea of the permanent magnet 410.

If the entire peripheral area of the permanent magnet 410 is covered,the poles of the permanent magnet 410 are pulled in all directions, andthus the restoring force toward the neutral position may decrease. Fromthis viewpoint, it is preferable that one direction is opened like theyoke 430 or the yoke 440 to enhance the restoring force toward theneutral position.

For example, in FIG. 23B, even if the distance from the central axis ofthe permanent magnet 410 to the first portion 451 of the yoke 450 isdifferent from the distance to the second portion 452, if the neutralposition of the permanent magnet 410 can be determined, thereciprocating rotation of the permanent magnet 410 similar to thatdescribed with reference to FIG. 13 to FIG. 18C can be performed.

In FIG. 23A, even if the distances from the central axis of thepermanent magnet 410 to the curved portion 443 of the yoke 440 isshorter than the distances to the first portion 441 and the secondportion 442, since there is no yoke on the opposite side of the curvedportion 443, the two poles of the permanent magnet 410 are stable in thedirections toward the first portion 441 and the second portion 442, andthe positions of the poles may also be considered as neutral positions.At the neutral positions, even if the poles of the permanent magnet 410do not face the side closest to the yoke 440, as long as a stableneutral position exists, the reciprocating rotation of the permanentmagnet 410 similar to that described with reference to FIG. 13 to FIG.18C can be performed.

However, if the distance from the central axis of the permanent magnet410 to the yoke at the neutral position is equal at the N-pole 410 n andthe S-pole 410 s, and the shape and configuration of the yoke 440 aredetermined such that the two poles face a direction at which thedistance from the central axis of the permanent magnet 410 to the yokeis the nearest, the relationship between the orientation of thepermanent magnet 410 and the strength of the restoring force is notdistorted greatly during rotation of the permanent magnet 410, which ispreferred from the viewpoint of stability of rotation of the permanentmagnet 410.

When there is one neutral position, the position where the N-pole andthe S-pole are exchanged, that is, the permanent magnet 410 rotates 180°from the one neutral position, is another neutral position. However,more than two neutral positions are undesirable. This is because, if thepermanent magnet 410 rotates from one neutral position to a positionclose to another neutral position, the permanent magnet 410 cannot berestored to the original neutral position, and therefore, when there aretwo pairs of neutral positions or more, the range of reciprocatingrotation cannot be expanded. For example, if the yoke has a square crosssection and its center is located on the central axis of the permanentmagnet 410, four neutral positions exist with every 90-degree interval.Even in such a structure, the reciprocating rotation of less than ±45degrees can be performed in the same way as described with reference toFIG. 13 to FIG. 18C, but the movable range is narrowed as compared withthe case of only two neutral positions.

Regarding the driving coil 420, the first portion 421 and the secondportion 422 are preferably placed as close as possible to the poles ofthe permanent magnet 410 at the neutral position. Such placement is tomake the magnetic field generated by the current flowing through theseportions strongly interact with the permanent magnet 410. In this way,the first portion 421 and the second portion 422 are to be disposed atthe position behind which the yoke is located if viewed from thepermanent magnet 410. This arrangement has an advantage to strongly fixthe driving coil 420 to the yoke.

5. CONTROL OF A PULSE INTERVAL OF A BEAM CORRESPONDING TO A SCANNINGPOSITION IN THE PRIMARY SCANNING DIRECTION (FIG. 25 TO FIG. 30)

Control of a pulse interval of a beam corresponding to a scanningposition in the primary scanning direction of the projected light L2will be described.

The control explained here is implemented in the case where the actuator300 is adopted in the scanning assembly 30. In this case, the scanningposition in the primary scanning direction corresponds to theorientation of the mirror unit 301 (particularly the first mirror 301 atherein) in the actuator 300, so the control described here alsocorresponds to the orientation of the mirror unit 301.

Firstly, the characteristics of oscillation of the mirror unit 301 bythe actuator 300 will be described with reference to FIG. 25 to FIG. 27.FIG. 25 is a graph illustrating the relation between the scan angle ofthe mirror unit 301 and the absolute value of the scanning angularvelocity, FIG. 26 is a chart illustrating an example of a drive signalof the LD module 21, and FIG. 27 is a view illustrating an example ofspots of projected light L2 formed on primary scanning lines.

According to the experiments by the inventor, the moving speed of themirror unit 301 that is oscillated by the actuator 300 is not constant.The mirror unit 301 stops at the ends of the oscillation path and movesin the other parts, so the moving speed obviously varies. The movingspeed is, as shown in FIG. 25, roughly lower as closer to the ends ofthe oscillation path and higher as closer to the midpoint.Counterclockwise rotation and clockwise rotation are different only indirection, and almost at the same speed at the same position.

In FIG. 25, the position along the oscillation path (described asrotation angle, and can be called a “scan angle”) is plotted as thehorizontal axis and the absolute value of the angular velocitycorresponding to that position is plotted as the vertical axis.

Since the rotation speed of the mirror unit 301 varies, when the LDmodule 21 is driven by a drive signal drv1 having equally spaced pulsesas shown in FIG. 26, spots 72 of projected light L2 as shown in FIG. 27are formed on the primary scanning lines 71. That is, spots aredistributed with large spatial interval in the center of the primaryscanning direction, and spots are distributed with smaller spatialinterval near the ends. Therefore, the detection resolution of theobject is lower on the center scan path than that close to the ends ofthe scan path.

When the detection of an obstacle is considered as the use of the objectdetecting apparatus 10, the importance around the center of the field ofview is considered to be high, so the above circumstance is notpreferable.

Therefore, the object detecting apparatus 10 is provided with a controlcircuitry for controlling the pulse interval of the drive signal of theLD module 21 according to the scan angle of the mirror unit 301.

FIG. 28 shows the configuration of the control circuitry.

The control circuitry 351 shown in FIG. 28 corresponds to a cyclecontroller, and the control operation by the control circuitry 351 canbe roughly divided into three operations: driving control of the drivingcoil 316, detection of rotation speed of the mirror unit 301, andcontrol of the pulse interval of the LD module 21.

Firstly, regarding the driving control of the driving coil 316, thecontrol circuitry 351 sets oscillation range and period of the scanningto be performed by the actuator 300 in a drive signal generationcircuitry 352 that generates a drive signal 353 to be applied to thedriving coil 316. The drive signal generation circuitry 352 generates,according to the set values, the drive signal 353 at an appropriatelevel of voltage varying with an appropriate period, and applies thedrive signal 353 to the driving coil 316 of the actuator 300. Thereby,the actuator 300 can oscillate the mirror unit 301 as described withreference to FIG. 9.

Next, regarding the detection of rotation speed of the mirror unit 301,a detecting circuitry 354 detects induced voltage generated in thesensing coil 317 of the actuator 300, an ADC (Analog to DigitalConverter) 355 converts the detected voltage into a digital value inreal time, and a differential calculation unit 357 corrects the digitalvalue and inputs the corrected value to the control circuitry 351. Thecontrol circuitry 351 calculates the rotation speed of the mirror unit301 based on the input voltage value. The sensing coil 317 preferablyhas the same number of turns as the driving coil 316, and is preferablywound in reverse direction to the driving coil 316, but the sensing coil317 is not limited to those.

When the mirror unit 301 is oscillated, an induced electromotive forcecaused by two factors is generated in the sensing coil 317.

The first factor is the induced electromotive force generated due to thechanges in intensity and direction of the magnetic field generated bythe driving coil 316 based on the change in voltage of the drive signalapplied to the driving coil 316.

The second factor is the induced electromotive force caused by thechange in intensity of the magnetic field due to the oscillation of thepermanent magnet 321. When the permanent magnet 321 is oscillated asdescribed with reference to FIG. 9 or the like, the varying rate of theintensity of the magnetic field generated in the sensing coil 317 due tothe oscillation can be considered to be substantially proportional tothe rotation angular velocity of the permanent magnet 321. Since therotation angular velocity of the permanent magnet 321 is also therotation angular velocity of the mirror unit 301, the intensity of theinduced electromotive force generated due to the second factor isconsidered to be proportional to the rotation angular velocity of themirror unit 301.

The mutually induced voltage pattern memory 356 and the differentialcalculation unit 357 are provided to subtract the value of the inducedelectromotive force caused by the first factor from the output of theADC 355.

That is, the mutually induced voltage mode memory 356 stores thevariation of the voltage value of the induced voltage generated in thesensing coil 317 due to mutual induction when the drive signal isapplied to the driving coil 316 in the actuator 300 while the permanentmagnet 321 is removed, to correspond to the phase of the drive signal,for a cycle of the drive signal. When applying a drive signal to thedriving coil 316 in order to oscillate the mirror unit 301, the drivesignal generation circuitry 352 provides a timing signal denoting thephase of the drive signal to the mutually induced voltage pattern memory356. The mutually induced voltage pattern memory 356 provides thevoltage value corresponding to the current timing to the differentialcalculation unit 357 based on the timing signal.

The differential calculation unit 357 subtracts the voltage valueprovided by the mutually induced voltage pattern memory 356 as acontribution amount of mutual inductance from the value of inducedvoltage actually generated in the sensing coil 317 and input by the ADC355, and provides the difference to the control circuitry 351.

Thereby, the value of induced voltage proportional to the rotationangular velocity of the mirror unit 301 can be input to the controlcircuitry 351. If the induced voltage input to the control circuitry 351is plotted in graph 361 where the horizontal axis indicates the halfperiod from one end to another end of the oscillation range of themirror unit 301, it is the similar distribution to that of the angularvelocity illustrated in FIG. 25.

The control circuitry 351 multiplies the voltage value VR(t) provided bythe differential calculation unit 357 at the time t by a preset constantK to obtain the angular velocity ω(t) of the mirror unit 301 byω(t)=K×VR(t).

The preset value of K is determined, for example, through the rotationangle of the mirror 31 a for the entire half period measured by otherexperimental means and an integral value of the voltage value VR(t)corresponding to the same half period.

The control circuitry 351 can calculate, by using ω(t), a firinginterval T for lighting the LD module 21at an interval to obtain adesired resolution on the primary scanning lines 71 a. T=π·(ψ/180)/ω(t),where the resolution is ψ degrees.

In order to control the pulse interval of the LD module 21, the controlcircuitry 351 calculates the firing interval T in real time in responseto input of the voltage value VR(t) from the differential calculationunit 357, and provides a pulse repetition modulation signal indicatingthe T value to the pulse generator 358.

The pulse generator 358 performs pulse repetition modulation accordingto the pulse repetition modulation signal to generate a timing signalhaving a pulse of the interval T, and provides the timing signal to thelaser drive circuitry 22. The laser drive circuitry 22 generates a drivesignal for lighting the LD module 21 at the time of the pulse includedin the timing signal provided by the pulse generator 358, and providesthe drive signal to the LD module 21.

The pulse interval provided by the control circuitry 351 to the pulsegenerator 358 for the period from one end to the other end of theoscillation range of the mirror unit 301 is shown in graph 362, takingtime as the horizontal axis as in the graph 361. That is, the controlcircuitry 351 controls, according to the induced voltage generated inthe sensing coil 317, the pulse interval of the LD module 21 to beshortened in a case where the mirror unit 301 is near the center of theoscillation path and the induced voltage is at a high level (firstlevel), compared with the case where the mirror unit 301 is near the endof the oscillation path and the induced voltage is at a low level(second level).

As a result, as indicated by the symbol drv2 illustrated in FIG. 29, thedrive signal of the LD module 21 output by the laser drive circuitry 22is characteristic with non-equal pulse intervals corresponding to themoving speed of the mirror unit 301. Then, as shown in FIG. 30, beamspots 72 obtained by deflecting the pulse-controlled laser beam L1 bythe mirror unit 301 are arranged at substantially equal intervals overthe entire length of the primary scanning lines 71 a. Thus, the objectdetecting apparatus 10 can detect the object with substantially equalresolution within the field of view 70 thereof.

In the secondary scanning direction, since the mirror 381 is stationaryduring the scanning along one primary scanning line, the above problemdoes not occur, and it is not necessary to adjust the pulse interval.

The control circuitry 351 may be provided as a part of the processorcircuitry 53, or provided separately from the processor circuitry 53.The control by the control circuitry 351 may be implemented by dedicatedhardware, or by causing a general-purpose processor to execute software,or by a combination thereof.

Although an example of control based on the voltage value of the inducedvoltage generated in the sensing coil 317 has been described withreference to FIG. 28, the same control can be performed even using thecurrent value of the induced current.

6. ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF CONTROL OF A PULSE INTERVAL OF A BEAMCORRESPONDING TO A SCANNING POSITION IN THE PRIMARY SCANNING DIRECTION(FIG. 31 AND FIG. 32)

Another example of control of a pulse interval of a beam correspondingto a scanning position in the primary scanning direction of theprojected light L2 will be described.

The control explained here is implemented in the case where the actuator400 is adopted in the scanning assembly 30. The same control can also beapplied to the case of adopting the actuator 400′. The basic idea of thecontrol is the same as that of the control described with reference toFIG. 25 to FIG. 30, except the method of detecting the scanning positionor orientation of the mirror 401. Therefore, the description will focuson this point.

FIG. 31 is a perspective view of an actuator 400″ as a modified exampleof the actuator 400 in the case where the pulse interval of the beam iscontrolled, corresponding to FIG. 14.

In the actuator 400″, a notch for fixing a magnet for detection 481 isprovided near the center of the front end (the opposite side of thepermanent magnet 410) of the mirror 401″. The magnet for detection 481is disposed such that the rotation axis 404 of the mirror 401″ passesthrough the center thereof.

The actuator 400″ comprises a magnetic sensor 482 opposite to the magnetfor detection 481. The magnetic sensor 482 includes a magnetoresistiveelement whose resistance value varies according to the direction of thesurrounding magnetic field. The magnetic sensor 482 is amagnetoresistive sensor (MR sensor) that outputs a signal of current orvoltage corresponding to the direction of the surrounding magneticfield. By arranging the magnetic sensor 482 near the magnet fordetection 481, a signal of current or voltage corresponding to thedirection of the magnetic field generated by the magnet for detection481, that is, the direction of the magnet for detection 481 can beoutput.

The magnetoresistive element (MR element) may be various elements suchas an anisotropic magnetoresistive element (AMR element), a giganticmagnetoresistive element (GMR element), and a tunnel magnetoresistiveelement (TMR element). These MR elements are capable of detecting thedirection of the magnetic field with high precision without depending onthe strength of the magnetic field, and are suitable for detecting therotation speed of the mirror 401″. The magnetic sensor 482 may be fixedto the actuator 400″ using a holder or the like, or fixed to thestructure of the scanning assembly 30 while positioning with theactuator 400″, or fixed to the structure of the object detectingapparatus 10.

FIG. 32 illustrates a structure of a control circuitry that controls thepulse interval of a beam. The same portions as those of FIG. 28 aredenoted by the same signs.

The control circuitry 471 shown in FIG. 32 corresponds to a cyclecontroller, and the control operation by the control circuitry 351 canbe roughly divided into three operations: driving control of the drivingcoil 420, detection of rotation speed of the mirror unit 401″, andcontrol of the pulse interval of the LD module 21.

Firstly, regarding the driving control of the driving coil 420, thecontrol circuitry 471 sets oscillation range and period of the scanningto be performed by the actuator 400″ in a drive signal generationcircuitry 472 that generates a drive signal 473 to be applied to thedriving coil 420. The drive signal generation circuitry 472 generates,according to the set values, the drive signal 473 at an appropriatelevel of voltage varying with an appropriate period, and applies thedrive signal 473 to the driving coil 420 of the actuator 400″. Thereby,as described with reference to FIG. 17 and FIG. 18, the permanent magnet410 can be rotated, and the actuator 400″ can oscillate the mirror 401″.Meanwhile, the magnet for detection 481 also oscillates together withthe mirror 401″.

Regarding to the detection of the rotation speed of the mirror 401″, themagnetic sensor 482 detects the orientation of the magnet for detection481 in real time, and outputs a signal of current or voltagecorresponding to the orientation. An ADC (Analog to Digital Converter)483 converts the signal output by the magnetic sensor 482 into a digitalvalue in real time, and provides the digital value to a scanning speedcalculation circuitry 484. The scanning speed calculation circuitry 484converts the signal input by the ADC 483 into an orientation angle ofthe magnet for detection 481 based on the pre-restored correspondingrelationship between the signal level of the magnetic sensor 482 and theorientation angle of the magnet for detection 481, then calculates,based on the temporal rate of change of the orientation angle, therotation angular velocity of the magnet for detection 481, that is, therotation angular velocity (scanning speed) of the mirror 401″, andprovides the rotation angular velocity to the control circuitry 471.

If the rotation angular velocity input to the control circuitry 471 isplotted in graph 491 where the horizontal axis indicates the half periodfrom one end to another end of the oscillation range of the mirror 401″,it is the similar distribution to that of the angular velocityillustrated in FIG. 25.

The control circuitry 471 calculates, by using the angular velocity ω(t)of the mirror 401″ input by the ADC 483 at each timing t, the firinginterval T for lighting the LD module 21 to obtain a desired resolutionon the primary scanning lines 71 a. T=π·(ψ/180)/ω(t), where theresolution is ψ degrees. For example, ψ=0.1.

In order to control the pulse interval of the LD module 21, the controlcircuitry 471 calculates the firing interval T in real time in responseto input of the angular velocity ω(t) from the ADC 483, and provides apulse repetition modulation signal indicating the T value to the pulsegenerator 358.

The function of the pulse generator 358 is the same as that in FIG. 28.The pulse interval provided by control circuitry 471 to the pulsegenerator 358 is also the same as that in FIG. 28, as shown in the graph362. This is because, similar to the actuator 300, the actuator 400″also oscillates the mirror to perform reciprocating rotation by usingthe system having a restoring force to the neutral position, and thusthe relationship between the scanning position and the scanning speed issimilar to that of the actuator 300.

Therefore, the structure of FIG. 31 and FIG. 32 can realize beam spots72 arranged at substantially equal spatial intervals over the entirelength of the primary scanning lines 71 a, as in the case of FIG. 28.

The magnetic sensor 482 may also be a sensing coil or a Hall element.The magnet for detection 481 is not necessarily disposed near the centerof the end of the mirror 401″, but may be provided at any position aslong as the magnetic sensor 482 can detect the change in the magneticforce when the mirror 401″ rotates. In order to improve the detectionaccuracy, the magnet for detection 481 is preferably not on the side ofthe magnet 410.

Instead of adopting the magnetic sensor 482, the angle of the mirror401″ is detected by optically detecting the position of the mirror 401″itself or a mark formed on the mirror 401″. In this case, the magnet fordetection 481 is not required.

7. OTHER EXAMPLES OF THE FERROMAGNETIC MATERIALS

The embodiments described above are forms where a soft magnetic materialwhich is a ferromagnetic material is placed surrounding the driving coil420 along the central axis of the permanent magnet 410. However, theferromagnetic material may also be a hard magnetic material such as amagnet. Several examples of the actuator 400 adopting a magnet ormagnets as the ferromagnetic material will be described referring toFIG. 33A to FIG. 35. The corresponding portions same as those ofdescribed embodiments above are denoted by the same signs.

FIG. 33A to FIG. 33C are views corresponding to FIG. 17A to FIG. 17Crespectively, for explaining the reciprocating rotation of the actuator400 in an example adopting a magnet or magnets as the ferromagneticmaterial. FIG. 34 and FIG. 35 are views, corresponding to FIG. 23A toFIG. 24C respectively, showing configuration examples of a magnet ormagnets corresponding to the example in FIG. 33A to FIG. 33C.

As shown in FIG. 33A, an N-pole 600 n and an S-pole 600 s of a magnet isplaced exterior to the driving coil 420 and face each other across thecentral axis of the movable permanent magnet 410. If no voltage isapplied to the driving coil 420, the permanent magnet 410 stops in suchan orientation that the S-pole 410 s thereof faces the N-pole 600 n, andthe N-pole 410 n thereof faces the S-pole 600 s because of the mutualmagnetic attraction force between the magnetic poles. Thus, thisposition is a neutral position.

Then, when a voltage is applied to the driving coil 420, the permanentmagnet 410 will rotate as shown in FIG. 33B, similar as the caseindicated in FIG. 17 and FIG. 18. When the voltage is turned offthereafter, the permanent magnet 410 will return to the neutralposition.

Accordingly, by applying a drive signal with a periodically alternatedvoltage or current to the driving coil 420, the actuator 400 will makethe permanent magnet 410 and the mirror 401 perform reciprocatingrotation (oscillation) similar as the case in FIG. 17 and FIG. 18.

Further, in the configuration of FIG. 33, strength of the restoringforce to move the permanent magnet 410 to the neutral position can beeasily modified through the magnetic force generated at the N-pole 600 nand/or the S-pole 600 s. Accordingly, the resonant frequency of theactuator 400 can also be easily modified. By using the N-pole 600 n andthe S-pole 600 s of the magnet, much stronger restoring force may alsobe generated than the case of a soft magnetic material such as the yoke430, and thus a higher resonant frequency can be expected.

The embodiment of the N-pole 600 n and the S-pole 600 s in FIG. 33 canbe configured, for example, as shown in FIG. 34. That is, one piece ofU-shaped magnet 610 where an N-pole 610 n and an S-pole 610 s thereofface each other across the central axis of the permanent magnet 410.

Alternatively, the N-pole 600 n and the S-pole 600 s can also beconfigured, as shown in FIG. 35, as the embodiment using a first magnet621 and a second magnet 622. The first magnet 621 and the second magnet622 are separated across the central axis of the permanent magnet 410and an N-pole 621 n of the first magnet and an S-pole of the secondmagnet 622 face each other across the central axis of the permanentmagnet 410.

The U-shaped magnet 610, the first magnet 621 and the second magnet 622are rigidly coupled to the bearing 403 and the bearing 405, similar asthe case when using the yoke 430. The driving coil is fixed to theU-shaped magnet 610, or to the first magnet 621 and the second magnet622.

Note that such magnet or magnets including the N-pole 600 n and/or theS-pole 600 s may also be an electromagnet or a plurality ofelectromagnets. A coil or a core constituting the electromagnet isgenerally a ferromagnetic material as well.

8. OTHER MODIFIED EXAMPLES

The embodiments in the present invention have been described. However,in the present invention, the specific structure of the apparatus,specific operation sequence, specific shape of components, and the likeare not limited to those described in the above embodiments.

The features described in the above embodiments may be independentlyapplied to an apparatus or a system, respectively. Particularly, theactuator 300, the actuator 400, the movable member 320, and the like maybe separately distributed as components. Their use is not limited to theobject detecting apparatus.

The above object detecting apparatus 10 may be configured in a compactsize portable on a human palm, is suitable for being mounted on amobility object such as a vehicle or a drone device, and is used as anobstacle detecting apparatus for autonomous driving, but its purpose isnot limited thereto. The object detecting apparatus may also be fixed ona post or a wall, etc., for fixed point observation.

A program of the present invention is implemented to cause one computeror a plurality of computers to cooperate to control necessary hardware,so as to realize the function of adjusting the pulse interval of the LDmodule 21 included in the object detecting apparatus 10 of the aboveembodiments, or to perform the processing described in the aboveembodiments.

Such a program may also be stored in a ROM or other non-volatile storagemedia (flash memory, EEPROM, etc.) of a computer. The program may alsobe provided as any non-volatile storage medium such as a memory card, aCD, a DVD, or a Blue-ray™ disc storing the program. The program may alsobe downloaded from an external apparatus connected to a network andinstalled on a computer to run.

Of course, the structures of the embodiments and modified examplesdescribed above can be arbitrarily combined as long as they do notcontradict each other, and only a part of them can be taken out forimplementing.

REFERENCE LIST

-   -   10 . . . object detecting apparatus    -   20 . . . light projecting unit    -   21 . . . LD module    -   22 . . . laser drive circuitry    -   23 . . . collimating lens assembly    -   30 . . . scanning assembly    -   31 . . . mirror    -   32 . . . actuator    -   40 . . . light reception unit    -   41, 48 . . . mirror    -   42 . . . collective lens    -   43 . . . light-receiving element    -   44 . . . aperture    -   51 . . . front-end circuitry    -   52 . . . TDC circuitry    -   53 . . . processor circuitry    -   54 . . . input/output unit    -   61 . . . top cover    -   62 . . . rear cover    -   63 . . . cover clip    -   64 . . . protective material    -   70 . . . field of view    -   71 . . . scanning line    -   72 . . . spot    -   300, 380, 400, 400′, 400″ . . . actuator    -   301 . . . mirror unit    -   301 a . . . first mirror    -   301 b . . . second mirror    -   301 a 1 . . . first reflecting surface    -   301 b 1 . . . second reflecting surface    -   302 . . . torsion spring    -   304, 384, 404 . . . rotation axis    -   311 . . . core yoke    -   312 . . . frame yoke    -   313 . . . coil assembly    -   314 . . . top yoke    -   315 . . . screw    -   316 . . . driving coil    -   317 . . . sensing coil    -   320 . . . movable member    -   321 . . . permanent magnet    -   321 s . . . S-pole    -   321 n . . . N-pole    -   381, 401, 401″ . . . mirror    -   382 . . . shaft    -   383 . . . holder    -   402, 402′ . . . mirror holder    -   403, 405 . . . bearing    -   406, 406′ . . . magnet holder    -   410, 410′ . . . permanent magnet    -   410 s . . . S-pole    -   410 n . . . N-pole    -   420 . . . driving coil    -   421, 422 . . . first and second portions of the driving coil    -   423, 424 . . . first and second connecting portions of the        driving coil    -   430, 440, 450, 460 . . . yoke    -   431-433 . . . first to third portions of the yoke 430    -   441-442 . . . first and second portions of the yoke 440    -   451-452 . . . first and second portions of the yoke 450    -   481 . . . magnet for detection    -   482 . . . magnetic sensor    -   610 . . . U-shaped magnet    -   621 . . . first magnet    -   622 . . . second magnet    -   L1 . . . laser beam    -   L2 . . . projected light    -   L3, L4 . . . returned light

1. An actuator, comprising: a movable magnet having a column shape andan S-pole and an N-pole, the S-pole and the N-pole being disposed onopposite sides of a central axis of the movable magnet from each other;a support member configured to support the movable magnet such that themovable magnet is rotatable around the central axis; a driving coilincluding a first portion and a second portion disposed on oppositesides of the movable magnet from each other, the first portion includinga first wire bundle, the second portion including a second wire bundle,and current being configured to flow in opposite directions in the firstportion and the second potion when powered on; a ferromagnetic materialdisposed outside the driving coil along the central axis such that adistance from the central axis to the ferromagnetic material on a planeperpendicular to the central axis varies with a direction from thecentral axis; and a driving circuitry configured to apply a drivesignal, the drive signal having a periodically varying voltage orcurrent, wherein the movable magnet is configured to performreciprocating rotation such that the movable magnet reciprocally rotateswithin a certain angular range in accordance with the drive signalapplied by the driving circuitry.
 2. The actuator according to claim 1,wherein the ferromagnetic material is a soft magnetic material forgenerating a restoring force to rotate the movable magnet toward theneutral position due to an interaction between a magnetic field of themovable magnet and the ferromagnetic material, and the ferromagneticmaterial has an extended area facing the poles of the movable magnet atthe neutral position and has an elongated cross-section away from thecentral axis in the plane perpendicular to the central axis.
 3. Theactuator according to claim 1, wherein the ferromagnetic material is asingle magnet, and an N-pole and an S-pole of the single magnet faceeach other across the central axis of the movable magnet.
 4. Theactuator according to claim 1, wherein the ferromagnetic materialincludes a first magnet and a second magnet spaced apart from eachother, and an N-pole of the first magnet and an S-pole of the secondmagnet face each other across the central axis of the movable magnet. 5.The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the movable magnet iscylindrical.
 6. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the movablemagnet is prismatic.
 7. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein themovable magnet is configured to be disposed at a neutral position whenno voltage is applied to the driving coil, and the first portion and thesecond portion of the driving coil are respectively located opposite tothe S-pole and the N-pole of the movable magnet at the neutral position.8. The actuator according to claim 2, wherein the movable magnet isconfigured to be disposed at a neutral position when no voltage isapplied to the driving coil, distances from the central axis to the softmagnetic material are equal on both sides of the N-pole and the S-poleof the movable magnet at the neutral position, and the N-pole and theS-pole of the movable magnet at the neutral position face a directionwith a shortest distance from the central axis to the soft magneticmaterial.
 9. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the driving coilis arranged such that wire of the driving coil is connected to a firstend of the second portion by winding from a first end of the firstportion around the central axis of the movable magnet along a surface ofthe movable magnet, and connected to a second end of the first portionby winding from a second end of the second portion around the centralaxis of the movable magnet along the surface of the movable magnet. 10.The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the movable magnet isconfigured to perform reciprocating rotation in accordance with thedrive signal applied by the driving circuitry within a range centered onthe neutral position.
 11. The actuator according to claim 1, furthercomprising a mirror fixed to an end portion of the movable magnet in alongitudinal direction of the movable magnet, the mirror beingconfigured to perform reciprocating rotation in accordance with thedrive signal applied by the driving circuitry.
 12. The actuatoraccording to claim 11, further comprising another magnet disposed at anend of the mirror such that the another magnet and the movable magnetare disposed on opposite ends of the mirror from each other.
 13. A lightscanning apparatus, comprising the actuator according to claim 11, thelight scanning apparatus being configured to reflect a beam at themirror and project the reflected beam.
 14. An object detectingapparatus, comprising: the actuator according to claim 11, a laser lightsource configured to output a laser beam; a light receiving element; anoptical assembly configured to reflect the laser beam at the mirror andproject the reflected laser beam to the outside, and to guide incidentlight incident from the outside, to the light-receiving element; and anobject detecting assembly configured to detect a distance to an objectlocated along an optical path of the projected laser beam and adirection in which the object is located, based on a projection timingand a projection direction of the laser beam and a timing of a lightdetection signal output by the light-receiving element.
 15. The objectdetecting apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising: a speeddetecting circuitry configured to detect a rotation speed of the mirror;and a pulse controller configured to control a pulse interval of thelaser light source based on the rotation speed detected by the speeddetecting circuitry.
 16. The object detecting apparatus according toclaim 15, further comprising another magnet disposed at an end of themirror such that the another magnet and the movable magnet are disposedon opposite ends of the mirror from each other, wherein the speeddetecting circuitry includes a magnetic sensor facing the another magnetand is configured to detect the rotation speed of the mirror based on achange in magnetism detected by the magnetic sensor.
 17. The objectdetecting apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the magnetic sensoris a magnetoresistive sensor that detects direction of a magnetic fieldwith a magnetoresistive element.
 18. The actuator according to claim 1,wherein wires of the first portion extend across a position facing oneof the S-pole and the N-pole of the movable magnet at the neutralposition, and wires of the second portion extend across a positionfacing the other of the S-pole and the N-pole of the movable magnet atthe neutral position.
 19. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein thefirst wire bundle is arranged generally parallel to the central axis,and the second wire bundle is arranged generally parallel to the centralaxis.